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Image by Sean MacEntee on Flickr
These days, businesses no longer rely on traditional media to spread the word. They recognize the power of social media, specifically its ability to reach a wider audience—on a global scale. Startups in particular turn to various social media platforms to spread the word about who they are and what they do in the hopes of getting their business off the ground. In general, businesses with a strong social media presence have the potential to increase sales and garner a strong following in numbers that could far exceed your expectations.
Here's the rub: Gaining a strong following in the first few months after you create your social media accounts for the public can only go so far. The key is how you maintain their interest long enough to stay with you for the long haul. And here is where the problem lies. A lot of businesses would often find—much to their disappointment—that they eventually lose a good percentage of their followers. What gives?
The reasons could be wide and varied, and getting to the bottom of it will take time, patience, and a lot of effort on your part. And before you start a campaign to boost your social media following, finding out what these reasons are should be first on your agenda.
To simplify things for you, the three most common reasons why subscribers or followers hit the "Unfollow" or "Unlike" button are content, relevance, and interaction. If you are personally managing your business pages or accounts on social media, you might say that these are simple enough to manage, and you can do it effortlessly. But there's more to it than meets the eye. There are various elements at play here, and taking all of them into consideration could give you the boost you need to gain back the followers/subscribers that you lost, win over a new string of followers, or both.
Below is a breakdown of these factors and suggestions on what you can do to improve your social media standing, and ultimately increase your number of followers.
1. Content
If you spend a lot of time on the Internet, and you've done your own research, reading about the importance of content might not sound new to you anymore. As a matter of fact, a lot of social media and online marketing gurus always put content creation on top of the list of things to do to ramp up social media presence. Here's the caveat: certain rules for content should be applied to each specific social media platform. For instance, the updates that you post on Facebook may not be suitable on Twitter for a number of reasons, foremost of which is, of course, character count. You're limited to 140 characters on Twitter.
While your main purpose for creating a social media presence on various platforms is to spread word about you and your products or services, sticking to product endorsements or sales pitches is the fastest way to lose followers. Why? Because over time, these will become boring.
You can use social media analytics tools to find out which content types got the most likes or the ones that your followers engaged with.
SumAll features tools that can help you analyze data across various Web platforms, including social media. Find out which tweets received the most retweets, Facebook posts were shared the most, or Google+ updates that were commented most by your audience.
Klout is a great tool for determining the types of content that your audiences will like. It features tools that let you know about publicly available content that your audience may not have seen yet, help you with content that your target audiences will like, and a tool for tracking the impact of your posts on various social media platforms.
One last thing to remember about social media content: do not assume that your followers on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, and Twitter are the same individuals or entities. Each of these sets of followers has their own voices, opinions, and preferences. Unfortunately, some social media account administrators or managers are simply too lazy to distinguish one from the other. This is a common pitfall and one that causes pages or accounts to lose followers. And this brings us to the next item.
2. Relevance
Know who your audience is for each of your social media accounts or pages. This will greatly help you create content that is relevant to them—something that they can relate to on different levels: mentally, emotionally, and socially. This is of particular importance to audiences who bring value to your business; perhaps a business entity that can bring in new customers for you or an influential individual who is highly regarded by your niche market. The rule of thumb here is to pay attention to your audiences. Listen to what they say. If it's a business entity or an influential personality (regardless of whether or not they are directly connected to your industry), make sure to follow them as well. And with their permission, share some of their posts on your accounts, too.
Remember we mentioned that an overload of product endorsements will eventually become boring? This is where paying attention to your audiences will come into play. Find out what their interests are. You can do this by checking their general demographics, reading their comments, or even following them on social media. From this information, you can share or create content that will appeal to them. It doesn't always have to be about business. Share something funny or entertaining, or create content that is informative or one that will invoke a strong emotion from them. The point is to get them engaged.
Still in line with posting relevant content, be careful about the hashtags that you use. Make sure that before you use a popular hashtag on your posts, you know the significance of each one. Do not use them simply because they're currently trending. And for that matter, use them within the right context. Many a personality or business entity has fallen into the trap of using a hashtag out of context that spiraled down so quickly that not only did they lose their followers, they tarnished their once-stellar online reputations as well!
For Twitter, here is how you can find the latest trending #hashtags.
And for Instagram, you can use Apple's Hashtap available on iTunes.
Or Letstag for Android-enabled devices
These apps can help you find trending hashtags that are relevant to your post. And remember to use them within their proper context because studies have shown that about one in every five individuals will likely unfollow social media accounts because of hashtags used out of context. It proved to be the one thing that completely turned them off. In other words, the improper use of hashtags is generally considered socially distasteful.
One other important factor that has to do with content and relevance is frequency. With posts and updates, you can use scheduling apps to automatically publish these at intervals you deem appropriate, which also depend on the social media platform onto which these will be published. Hourly updates might be a bit of a stretch, especially if these focus on sales pitches and hard sells. About two to five updates at well-timed intervals should be enough.
3. Social Interactions
Engaging with your audiences is one of the best ways to keep them. Actual interaction in real time is the only way to go about this if you want to your social engagement campaign to be effective. Unfortunately, a lot of businesses take social engagement rather lightly. In fact, there have been quite a number of business pages or accounts that lost a good following because they failed to proactively interact with their audience. A common mistake that proved to have dire consequences is to use automated responses in social interactions.
Image by: Garfield Anderssen on Flickr
Your audience doesn't want to be acknowledged by a Web bot! They will feel that their efforts to reach out to you were unappreciated, or worse, that you couldn't be bothered with talking to your followers who could actually be some of your existing clients—or potential new clients. Whether the comment is positive or negative is beside the point. Always acknowledge your followers first, and then talk to them about their comments. Social interactions can tell you a great deal about your audience's response to your business as well, and you can use these to improve your products or services.
Interacting with your audiences creates a bond on a more personal level, and this encourages loyalty. However, merely talking to them isn't enough. Listen to what they have to say and respond in a positive way even if the comments are negative.
Your social media presence is a form of branding strategy online, and to take care of your brand, you have to be careful about what you say and how you say it, and how you relate to your network of followers. And remember, for your social media relationship with your audiences, there is no one-size-fits-all rule. Commitment, consistency, and adaptability are key factors in long-term social followers.


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Suomen kieli ulkomaalaisille/Sisältö/Objektin sijan valinta
The choice of case for the object in a sentence is one of the most challenging things for the foreigner to get right.
You can gain a thorough understanding of the rules by reading this section of the book.
The section is still in development so if you have any questions about this page, please click on the discussion tab and start discussing! Anyone can raise a question or answer it. Please correct any errors you find here.
What is the object in the sentence? edit
In grammar, the word object has a special meaning different from its general meaning. It does not mean "thing", but the element in the sentence that is referred or acted upon by the action of verb. It can also mean the outcome of the verb action.
Thus in the following sentences, the word "glass" is the object or part of an object phrase.
- He picked up the glass.
- He installed some new glass in the window.
- The church contained a lot of painted glass.
But in the sentence "The glass fell to the floor", the word glass is the subject not the object, because it is performing the action of the verb. (There is no object in this sentence. "to the floor" is an adverbial phrase).
The object in a sentence is often a noun (as was the case with "glass" above), but it can also be a pronoun.
- May I kiss you?
- Give it to me!
It can also be a number or some other quantifier
- Give me half a dozen
It can also be an adjective.
- Do you want the red or the blue?
Make sure you understand these points before trying to continue with this chapter. This is important because Finnish marks the object with a case. But the correct case will depend on the circumstances.
Partitive and Accusative Object edit
The case of the Object is either Partitive or Accusative.
- The object will be in the partitive if the process of the verb is what is important or if the action of the verb is non-final (i.e. there is no final outcome).
- The object will be in the accusative if the outcome of the action in the verb is what is important or if the action of the verb is final or resultative (there is some definite final outcome).
These are general rules, but they may be modified slightly according to the detailed grammar rules. Some of these have to be applied absolutely, and some are subject to a degree of choice depending on what is needed to be conveyed. We will examine these exceptional rules later on.
Lets look at some examples.
The Partitive Object edit
In Finnish, if the object is only in part affected by the action of the verb (and often this refers to cases where the action of the verb does not complete) the case of the object is the Partitive.
Where the action is complete or planned to be completed for the whole object, the case form of the object is the Accusative.
- Minä luen kirjaa I am reading a book
- Here the verb lukea (to read) is in the present tense form luen (I read) or I am reading. But the object kirja (book) is in the partitive kirjaa. The reason for this is that the action is incomplete, as the book is only partly read.
But now look at the following sentence.
- Minä luin kirjan I read the book
- Here the verb is in the past tense and the whole book was read. The word kirjan is not in the partitive case but rather the accusative.
But if the book was only partly read...
- Minä luin kirjaa I read some of the book
- Finnish has no need for separate words expressing "some of" because the partitive case carries that meaning instead.
And just to round things off, consider the following
- Minä luen kirjan. I will read the book
- Here the object book is not in the partitive, so we know we are talking about the WHOLE book. But the verb is not in the past tense but the present. As Finnish has no future tense, the meaning is clearly one of intent to read the WHOLE book. Hence, the correct translation is "I will read the book".
If the object is actually a plural, then the form will be plural. Compare the following carefully. There are some replicate items with alternative interpretations. The meaning will often be clear from the context.
Partitive (Present/Future)
- Minä luen kirjoja I will read some books (part of some unspoken about group of books, but I'm not saying if I will finish reading any of them)
- Minä luen kirjoja I'm reading some books (part of some unspecified class of books)
- Minä luen kirjoja I'm reading the books (the books we have speaking about, but I've not finished reading them)
Compare to the Accusative (in Present/Future)
- Minä luen kirjat I will read the books (all of the books about which we may have been speaking)
Partitive (Imperfect)
- Minä luin kirjoja I read some books (I read at least 2 books which I may or may not have finished reading. In the latter case I am stressing that activity of reading is what was important to me)
Compare to the Accusative (Imperfect)
- Minä luin kirjat I read the books (The definite books about which we may have been speaking, and I finished reading them all)
The Total Object (also known as the accusative) edit
If the case of the object is not Partitive it will be Accusative, which we can think of as being a "whole" or "total object" case. But it gets a little more complicated because Finnish has several accusative (whole or total object) forms.
- the -N Accusative
- this is morphologically identical to the genitive singular and is used for singular objects.
- the -T Accustative
- Nouns have a -T accusative form that is morphologically identical to the nominative plural and is used for plural objects.
- Pronouns also have a -T accusative ending, even if the meaning is singular
- Note however, that some pronoun forms have a nominative plural form that is not the same as the accusative.
- E.g. Kuka? (who) has nominative plural ketkä but accusative kenet.
- the Unmarked Accusative
- This is morphologically identical to the nominative singular and applies to singular objects in clauses if the verb does not carry a personal ending. These situations are all passive verbal forms, with an infinitive, or in imperative construction. The infinitive case includes all "must do" phrases using "täytyy", "pitää" etc.
- Note: Objects in ownership phrases using the adessive (-lla / -llä) plus "on" are also unmarked if the meaning is singular and none of the partitive rules apply (though some grammaticians would argue that the owned object is really a subject!).
- However if the object (or subject if you are pedantic) in these sentences is plural, then the object will be in the -T accusative (or T-nominal for pedants!).
- This is morphologically identical to the nominative singular and applies to singular objects in clauses if the verb does not carry a personal ending. These situations are all passive verbal forms, with an infinitive, or in imperative construction. The infinitive case includes all "must do" phrases using "täytyy", "pitää" etc.
The Partitive Object Rules edit
Partial objects edit
Rule: Partial objects take the partitive case
- Otin makeisia. I took some sweets (candy) but not all of them.
- makeisia is the partitive plural of makeinen, sweet or candy.
- Otin makeisia. I took some sweets (candy) but not all of them.
Uncountables or indefinite amounts edit
Rule: Uncountable objects are expressed in the partitive if the quantity is uncertain or not expressed or implied
- Tarvitsemme juustoa
- We need cheese
- What makes an object countable? Cheese is only countable if we add some unit. So we can can say I'll have three hundred grams of cheese but just saying I'll have three cheeses is meaningless. Cheese is therefore uncountable.
- We need cheese
But if the quantity is certain and a number is not used to express the quantity, then the object will not be partitive
- tuo nuo juustot!
- bring those cheeses!
- that is, those cheeses, certain in quantity, about which we have been speaking
- bring those cheeses!
Enumerated objects other than one edit
Rule: Where objects are quantified by number, the object following the number is in the partitive SINGULAR but the number itself is in the unmarked accusative. This does not apply if the number is one or implies singularity.
- Me ostimme neljä uutta talvirengasta We bought four new winter tyres (tires)
- uusi talvirengas new winter tyre is put into the partitive SINGULAR uutta talvirengasta but the number four is is in the unmarked accusative singular (same as nominative singular).
but if the number is one...
- Kuljettaja joutui vaihtamaan yhden renkaan The driver had to change one tyre (tire)
- yksi rengas is put into the -N accusative yhden renkaan because the numner is "one".
See also Unmarked Accusative Rules for discussion regarding numbers.
On going action edit
Rule: If the action of the verb is still in progress, the object case will be partitive.
- Hän on maalannut taloa He has been painting the house but its not yet finished
- House, talo, is in the singular partitive form taloa.
- Hän on maalannut taloa He has been painting the house but its not yet finished
Irresultative outcomes edit
Rule: If the action of the verb was in the past but did not completed or did not result in anything comclusive or final, the object affected by the verb will be partitive
- Bob yritti korjata tilannetta Bob tried to correct the situation but he did not succeed
- situation, tilanne, is in the partitive singular form, tilannetta.
- Bob yritti korjata tilannetta Bob tried to correct the situation but he did not succeed
Activity verbs (emphasis on the activity not the outcome) edit
Rule: Process and Activity verbs stressing the verb rather than outcome take partitive.
This is a general rule. Many verbs express actions that tend to be continuous or extend over time and by their very nature do not necessarily of themselves create an outcome, although an outcome may cause the process to stop. These verbs tend to take partitive objects where it is the process rather than the outcome is the main meaning behind the verb.
Verbs expressing emotions are often like this too.
- Ajattelen sinua
- I'm thinking about you
- Odotan bussia
- I'm waiting for the bus
- Etsin töitä
- I'm seeking work
- Miten voimme auttaa sinua?
- How can we help you?
- Saako lapsille mainostaa roskaruokaa?
- Can junk food be advertised to children?
- Harrastan tanssia
- I'm interested in dancing
- Rakastan sinua
- I love you
- Ihailetko Annea?
- Do you admire Anne?
Useful tip: Some good dictionaries will indicate the case government in one or both languages.
- For instance
- Harrastaa jtak. To be interested in
- jtak. =abbreviation of jotakin, which is the word jokin in partitive case. Jokin in English means something
- So its a good idea to learn the case government when you learn the verb (just as one might learn the gender of an object in French or Spanish).
The partitive rules above are rather dependent on choice of meaning. We can see that we can imply some meaning by selecting the partitive case where in English that meaning is conveyed fully only with extra words. The remaining rules are either general rules of thumb regarding language use connected with the partial/Total distinction, or absolute rules which must be followed.
Although we have discussed the partitive object generally above, there are some circumstances where the object is always in the partitive regardless of partial subject or partial outcome. These will be defined as absolute rules. We will now look at these rules.
Negation and partitive object edit
Rule: The object in a negative clause is always in the partitive
This is an Absolute Rule and is easy to remember. It has nothing to do with total or partial object.
- Näetkö sinä Markun? En. En näe Markkua.
- Do you see Markku? No. I can't see Markku.
- The sentence "En näe Markkua" is negative in character. The object is therefore in the partitive case.
- Do you see Markku? No. I can't see Markku.
- Etkö ymmärrä tätä tekstiä?
- Don't you understand this text?
- En ymmärrä mitään!
- I don't understand anything!
- Älä sulje ovea!
- Don't close the door!
- The negative word älä forces the word door into the partitive case.
- Don't close the door!
Expressing simultaneous actions edit
Rule: If two things are happening at the same time, the objects will be in the partitive case. If they happen sequentially they will be in the accusative. For example
- Söin aamiaista ja luin lehteä.
- I ate breakfast and read the paper (both at the same time)
- Söin aamiaisen ja luin lehden
- I ate breakfast and read the paper (but not at the same time)
- Kulutetaanko objektin tarkoittama asia loppuun vai käytetäänkö sitä vain vähän?
- Haluan käyttää teippiäsi? (teippiä otetaan vain vähän)
- - vrt. Haluan käyttää teippisi? (teippi käytetään loppuun)
- Haluan käyttää teippiäsi? (teippiä otetaan vain vähän)
- jokin pieni sana voi kertoa, että toiminta on meneillään/prosessi
- esim. vielä, kauan, kuinka kauan, jatkuvasti, juuri, nyt
- Luen vielä tätä kirjaa.
- Kuinka kauan siivoat autotallia?
- lukusana (nominatiivi) substantiivi (partitiivi)
- Ostin hänelle neljä tulppaania.
- - vrt. Ostan yhden kirjan. Ostetaan hänelle yksi kirja. (yksi on poikkeus ja taipuu sekä päätteellisessä, että päätteettömässä akkusatiivissa)
- Ostin hänelle neljä tulppaania.
Abstract ideas edit
Rule: Abstract ideas are expressed in the partitive. This is a general rule.
- Köyhät tarvitsevat myötätuntoamme
- The poor need our sympathy
- Sympathy is an abstract concept
- The poor need our sympathy
The Accusative or Total Object Rules edit
It is essentially true that if the object is not going to be in the partitive, it will be in the accusative. The issue will then be which of the 3 forms of the accusative object will be adopted.
-N accusative Rules edit
The -N accusative is perhaps the most common form and can best be thought of as the default if the object does not meet the partitive rules, or the -T Accusative Rules or Unmarked Accusative Rules . If you apply all the other rules, you will never use the -N accusative incorrectly. (<< Those sound like famous last words! -Ed.).
The object will always be total, i.e. affecting the whole object or the verb has a conclusive outcome affecting the object (so the general partitive does not apply), will not be plural (so the -T rules does not apply), and none of the exceptional partitive rules apply (so it will not, for example be in a negative sentence), and none of the absolute Unmarked Accusative rules apply (e.g. the verb is not passive).
-T accusative rules edit
Rule 1: The -T accusative will be used where the object is plural and total (affecting the whole object or the verb has a conclusive outcome affecting the object), and where none of the exceptional partitive rules apply (e.g. it is not in a negative sentence)
- Anna minulle työkalut Give me the tools (All the tools, not some of them)
Rule 2: Personal pronouns as Whole Object cases take the -T accusative ending, even if the pronoun is singular.
- Hän pelasti meidät/minut! He saved us!!
Unmarked Accusative edit
Numbers edit
If a number is used to express quantity, the number itself will be in the Un-marked Accusative and the object following it will usually be in the partitive singular because of the usual number rules regarding partitive singular after numbers.
- Söin kolme omenaa
- I ate three apples
- Kolme three is the object in this sentence and is in the umarked Accusative
- omenaa apples is also an object but it is in the partitive SINGULAR
- The meaning is 3 WHOLE items which are PART of a wider group of all apples.
- The number is not really attributive because a number can stand for an object alone and will still be in this unmarked accusative form. For instance "K: Montako omenaa söit? V:söin kolme" Q: How many apples did you eat? A: I ate three"
- I ate three apples
- Söin yhden omenan
- I ate one apple
- Yksi omena means one apple in nominative form but as the one apple was completely eaten and this was specified as one apple, we use the -N accusative to express this, i.e. yhden omenan. It matters not that this is just one apple of all the apples that could have been eaten (!!) and this is generally true when the number one is used. So here comes a new general rule.
- I ate one apple
- General Rule: When using a number as part of an object phrase, the case of the number will always be the unmarked accusative (i.e. the same as the nominal or dictionary form) and the item following it will be partitive UNLESS the number is one, in which case both the number and the object will take the -N accusative EXCEPT in cases where the overriding Partitive Rules apply (e.g. for negative phrases) in which case both number and object will be in the partitive.
This covers the possible negative construction
- en syönyt pääsiäismunaa koko pääsiäisenä
the Easter Egg
en syönyt pääsiäismunia koko pääsiäisenä
any Easter eggs
- en syönyt yhtään pääsiäismunaa koko pääsiäisenä
- I've not eaten a single easter egg over the whole of Easter
- yhtään is, strictly speaking, adverbial rather than object, and means "at all", but its roots in the partitive form of one, yhtä is clearly visible. c.f. Mikä and ei mikään.
- I've not eaten a single easter egg over the whole of Easter
Passive verbs edit
Rule: If the verb is passive, then the total object will be in the Unmarked Accusative case if singular or the -T accusative if plural (i.e. the same as the equivalent nominal forms) unless an overriding partitive rule applies.
Ortodoksikirkko korjattiin kesällä. Kirkon lattiat korjataan myöhemmin. The orthodox church was repaired during the summer. The floors of the church will be repaired later.
- Orthodox church is in the Unmarked accusative singular (same as nominative form) and floors is expressed with the plural -T accusative (same as nominative plural).
In practise this is rather easy to remember as passive sentences have the object before the verb. It us rather more natural to regard the object as if it were a subject in the nominal case. Object case selection to nominative or accusative usually happens after the verb has been uttered (in SVO type sentences), so this does not arise in the case of passive sentences.
An on-going process will take the Partitive Object edit
When an activity is still ongoing the object will usually be in the partitive.
- Luen kirjaani
- I'm reading my book
- Present tense, the activity is in progess
- I'm reading my book
But if verb is in the present but the activity is not ongoing, but the object is in the accusative, the meaning of the verb is futuristic
- Luen kirjani
- I'll read my book
- The possessive suffix amalgamates with the accusative -n. The verb meaning is in the future.
- I'll read my book
And this ongoing nature that is expressed by the partitive can even be used in the imperfect past tense.
- Luin kirjaani
- I was reading my book
- This is a statement of fact about an ongoing activity that happened in the past. Because it was ongoing and not completed the object is in the partitive case.
- I was reading my book
And finally
- Luin kirjani
- I finished reading my book
- Finnish expresses the finality of the reading by putting the case into the Accusative.
- I finished reading my book
- tekeminen on sen lopputulosta tärkeämpi tai se kuinka kauan jotain tehdään on tärkeämpää kuin valmiiksi saaminen
Resolving conflicting rules edit
In the case of commands it does rather depend on what the speaker is trying to convey. For instance, consider the following.
- Auta vanhus bussiin. Help the senior onto the bus!
- The verb auttaa (help) could be a continuous action that may or may not be resultative and will often be in the partitive. But the object in a command phrase takes the unmarked accusative because the completion of the action is what is important. So in this case it is the outcome that is important not the process. Getting the person onto the bus is what is important in this command and it must be completed. Hence in this case the object vanhus, senior citizen is in the accusative and not the partitive vanhusta.
Compare this with:
- Odota iltaa! Wait (until the) evening!
- Here, the processes of the verb is what is important, not the outcome. Hence the object evening is is in the partitive.
A similar idea is seen in the following examples:
- Luen joka aamu lehteä.
- I read the newspaper every morning
- Here its the process that is important not the outcome. The speaker is just expressing what he does habitually. The word 'newspaper' is therefore in the partitive case.
- I read the newspaper every morning
Consider the following:
- Luen joka aamu lehden.
- I make sure I read the newpaper every morning
- The speaker has used the accusative case and not the partitive case. This means that its not the casual process of reading the paper that is being expressed (as in the previous example) but the actual meaningful activity of getting it read. So the outcome is what is being stressed and not the process. Hence the object case is not partitive but accusative. Hence the English translation is not word for word a translation from the Finnish.
- I make sure I read the newpaper every morning
Akkusatiiviobjekti (kun toiminnan tulos on tärkeä) edit
n-päätteinen akkusatiivi, kun toiminnan tulos on tärkeä edit
Milloin pidämme tauon?
Haluan saada kirjan.
päätteetön akkusatiivi, jos tuloslauseessa on passiivi, imperatiivi tai yksipersoonainen verbi edit
Milloin seuraava tauko pidetään? (passiivi)
Sulkekaa ovi! (imperatiivi)
t-päätteinen akkusatiivi on tuloslauseen monikossa ja persoonapronomineilla (joilla on vain t-päätteinen akkusatiivi) edit
Nyt näette minut.
Pysäytä hänet!
Kenet sinä näit?
Luin eilen kaikki lehdet.
Ota kynät pois lattialta!
Jotkin verbit vaikuttavat toimintaverbeiltä, mutta ne ovat TULOSVERBEJÄ.
- esim. nähdä, tuntea (joku), tavata, muistaa, unohtaa, kuulla, aloittaa, tarvita
- Näen tytön kadulla.
- Muistan eilisen tapauksen.
- Tarvitsen kynän.
- Joskus elollisen ja elottoman välillä on eroa.
- Ymmärsin tekstin hyvin.
- Ymmärsin häntä hyvin.
Vertaa seuraavia verbejä toisiinsa. (tulos/prosessi)
- Muistan tapauksen.
- Muistelen tapausta.
- Katsoin elokuvan.
- Katselin elokuvaa.
- Kuulin ohjelman radiosta.
- Kuuntelin ohjelmaa radiosta.
Why is object marking difficult for English speakers? edit
Object marking in English is rare edit
English, on the whole, does not specially mark the object in a sentence.
There is only one type of word in English that is always marked as an object and this is the personal pronoun. When a personal pronoun in English is the object in a sentence, it goes into a special form called the accusative.
- John gave the book to me. Me is the accusative form of I
- John took him to Helsinki. Him is the accusative form of He
- John kissed her tenderly. Her is the accusative form of She
- John took us back to Turku. Us is the accusative form of We
- John loved them all. Them is the accusative form of They
But "you" and "it" are the same in both the nominative and accusative forms. So "you" and "it" is both the nominative and accusative forms.
So special object cases are not so unfamiliar to the English speaker, but it only happens in this rather special case.
Finnish on the other hand requires not only that the object is marked, but the form of the marking will vary according to some rather complex rules and there are several different forms of the object case depending on the circumstances. This is the tricky part.
In some clauses it is difficult to know what is an object and what is a subject edit
Consider for example an ownership phrase. Finnish does have a specific verb omistaa meaning to own but it is rarely used. Ownership is usually expressed differently.
Consider for example the following 3 examples
- Minä omistan uuden talvitakin I own a new winter coat
- Minulla on uusi talvitakki I've got a new winter coat or more literally At me is a new winter coat
- Talvitakki on minun The winter coat is mine
In the first sentence we have a verb expressing ownership and it is a complete ownership. We have a personal pronoun minä which is the subject, a verb form omistan expressing ownership, and an object, uusi talvitakki which is transformed into the Genitive Accustive form uuden talvitakin because of the object rules which will be explained later.
But in the second example, which is the more normal Finnish way of expressing posession, it is not so easy to identify whether a winter coat is the object or the subject. It certainly is an object in the English translation, but the Finnish construction is more or less At me is a new winter-jacket, so minulla here is adverbial (denoting "where at"), "on" is the verb expressing existence, but does this mean that talvi-takki is the subject or the object? The answer is, that Finnish grammaticians would regard talvitakki as the SUBJECT and therefore it is the SUBJECT rules rather than the OBJECT rules that apply.. This is why uusi talvitakki is in the nominative case in the second phrase but in the genetive accusative in the first.
Similarly in the third sentence, talvitakki is the subject not the object and and is therefore in the nominative case.
But don't worry too much if you don't understand this. Even Finns will argue the point amongst themselves, so you are not alone!
Word order in Finnish gives no clue as to what the object is edit
This is more of a problem when it comes to understanding Finnish. In English we usually know what the object by where it comes relative to the verb. In English the most common sequence, as in Finnish, is Subject-Verb-Object. This is also the case in Finnish, but it is less strictly adhered to than in English.
For example
- The cat is chasing the mouse.
The Cat is the subject, chases is the verb, and the mouse the object. We only know this because in English, in sentences of this type, the subject comes first, then the verb, then the object. If we want to keep the same meaning in English but re-arrange the word order, we have to specially mark the object and do some complex somersaults with the verb to convey approximately the same meaning.
- The mouse is being chased by the cat.
The different verb structure "is being chased" immediately marks the preceding noun the mouse as being the object rather than the subject in this sentence. The addition of the word "by" marks "the cat" as the subject.
In Finnish it is much easier to move the sequence, but because the object is marked, it always remains the object, so it just gives different shades of meaning.
The following examples will help to illustrate the point.
In the English sentence Marja loves Timo we know because of word order and standard construction that Marja is the subject doing the loving and Timo is the object of her love. If the phrase was reversed Timo loves Marja the roles of the people in the sentence is reversed and the whole meaning changes. This is not the case in Finnish because the subject is specially marked.
Lets look at the sentence in Finnish and see what happens.
- 1. S-V-O Marja rakastaa Timoa Marja loves Timo ... a sheer statement of fact
- 2. O-V-S Timoa rakastaa Marja Marja loves Timo ... or better "Timo is loved by Marja" and not some other woman
- 3. O-S-V Timoa Marja rakastaa Marja loves Timo or better.. it's Timo that Marja loves (and not somebody else)
- 4. V-S-O Rakastaa Marja Timoa Marja loves Timo ...... or better it's love that Marja has for Timo and not some other emotion or motive
S, V and O here refer to Subject, Verb and Object.
Notice that in all three Finnish sentence Timoa is the name Timo in the partitive case. The reason for this is that loving it is an irresultative action, but the key thing to note is that it marks Timo as being the subject of the sentence. Changing the word order does not radically change the meaning of the sentence in Finnish as it does in English but it does change the emphasis. So although the core meaning is the same, (i.e. Marja is doing the loving and Timo is being loved) the secondary message in each sentence is different.
Because Timo is in the partitive and Marja is in the nominative their roles in the sentence stay as object and subject regardless of word order. In Finnish, definiteness can often be conveyed by bringing that which is definite to the front of the sentence, whereas English does this with intonation to stress the point. But note the exception in example 2 above where the subject comes last. The equivalent stresss in English in this case would go on Marja, but note how the English words have to be radically altered to convey different shades of meaning!
If the point about definiteness still seems strange, perhaps you should consider this more familiar example:
Auto on kadulla The car is in the street
Kadulla on auto There is a car on the street
Definiteness and indefiniteness expressed in English is done by using the indefinite a or the definite article the. In Finnish it is often expressed by changing the word order (definite items at the front). But changing the word order makes it more difficult to spot which is the subject and which is the object.
Flowchart edit
Follow the chart to determine if the object is going to be partitive, accusative, nominative, or if the clause has an object at all. Indicators to look for are:
- Negative clauses — "Minä en syö omenaa."
- Partitive verbs — "Minä rakastan omenaa." Minä rakastan yhtä omenaa. Minä rakastan kahta omenaa.
- Indefinite amounts — "Minä syön osan omenaa."
- Definite amounts that are more than one — "Minä syön kaksi omenaa."
- Definite amounts that are fractional — "Minä syön puoli omenaa."
- Irresultative verbs — "Minä etsin omenaa."
- Place of being clauses — "Minulla on omena."
- State of being clauses — "Hedelmä on omena."
- Imperative clauses — "Anna omena."
- Necessity clauses — "Sinun täytyy antaa omena."
- Conditional?
- Passive?
┌───────────────────────• 1. Negative Yes No ↓ ↓ 2. State of Being • Yes ──┐ No │ ↓ ↓ ┌────────────────── Yes • 2. Partitive verb │ No ↓ ↓ ┌────────────────── Yes • 3. Indefinite amount │ No ↓ ↓ ┌────────────────── Yes • 4. Amount more than one │ No ↓ ↓ ┌────────────────── Yes • 5. Fractional amount │ No ↓ ↓ ┌────────────────── Yes • 6. Irresultative │ No │ ↓ │ 7. Place of being • Yes ┐ │ No │ │ ↓ │ │ 8. State of being •┐ │ │ No │ │ │ ↓ ↓ │ │ 9. Imperative •────┐ │ │ No │ │ │ ↓ ↓ │ │ 10. Necessity •────┐ │ │ No Yes │ ┌─↓─────────┐ ┌────────↓────┐ ┌───────────↓┐ ┌─↓───────────────────────────┐ │ Partitive │ │ Accusative │ │ Nominative │ │ Locative word not an object │ └───────────┘ └─────────────┘ └────────────┘ └─────────────────────────────┘

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Hoorn (Noord-Holland, Netherlands)
Hoorn, a Dutch city (coordinates: 52.64237, 5.06021 [52° 38′ 32″ N, 5° 3′ 36″ E]; 1947 population, 13,420, with 209 Mennonites; 2007 pop., 68,852) on the former Zuiderzee in the province of North Holland, is the seat of a Mennonite congregation. Little is known of its early history. No church records were kept until 1706, when the Waterlander congregation began one. Presumably there were advocates of adult baptism in Hoorn before 1550. The chronicler of Hoorn recorded that on 7 June 1535, five Anabaptists, including some women, were put to death on account of their faith. In 1542-1543 the Anabaptists of Hoorn organized a congregation, which was visited by Menno Simons on his journey through North Holland. The noted elder Leenaert Bouwens baptized 25 persons in 1551-1556. The congregation grew rapidly from the influx of refugees from the rest of Holland and Zeeland, among them many shippers and merchants. Leenaert Bouwens is said to have stopped here 12 times in 1556-1567 and to have baptized a total of 165 young people.
In 1566, when the wave of iconoclasm broke out, the Catholic authorities passed very severe measures and limited the freedom of the Anabaptists in holding services. Unfortunately divisions were taking place here as elsewhere in the country. Tradition says that there were 13 different groups of Anabaptists in Hoorn. A deacon who was born in 1677 relates that at his time there were only six left. They had the following names: Frisian; Old Frisians or Jan Jacobsgezinden (after their founder Jan Jacobsz); Waterlanders (practiced feet washing); Flemish; High Germans; and "Plempschen" (probably so called because their church stood on a canal that had been filled [geplempst]; these "Plempschen" were also called the "Pieter Jansz Twisck gezinden" after their elder, P. J. Twisck; the Rijnsburger Collegiants (who had much in common with the Anabaptists and whose meetings were also attended by many Mennonites); the name "Robbertgezinde" also occurs, whose founder in 1590 was a teacher of sailing and a printer of books in Hoorn.
Attempts to bring about a union had of course been made, at least by a few groups. In 1566 such an attempt was made by Jan Willemsz and Lubbert Gerritsz, elders of the Frisian and Flemish congregations. It failed and was repeated in 1576, again in vain. Union was not achieved until 1692.
In 1724 the Pieter Jansz Twisck group or Old Frisians united with the Frisians. From then on, there were only two congregations—a Waterlander and a Frisian—whose relations were friendly. In 1698 the Waterlanders invited the Frisians to cooperate in merging their services, so that the members of both groups could attend services in both churches. This suggestion was rejected, but was successfully repeated in 1706. In 1723 a Frisian elder had charge of the worship of the Waterlander congregation. An attempt made in 1727 to unite the congregations failed, although the elders of both congregations were holding baptismal and communion services in both churches. On 17 December 1747, the two congregations were merged, with Jacob Fortuyn as preacher and Cornelis Ris as elder. Beginning in 1700 the membership had greatly receded, partly because the city was declining, and partly on account of indifference.
Although the Frisian and Waterlander congregations had united, they kept their own churches until 1800, when there was danger that the less-used of the two would be used for military training purposes. The nonresistant Mennonites would have nothing to do with such a cause, and tore down their church. The remaining church, which belonged to the Frisians, stood until 1865, when it was replaced. The church, located at Ramen 31, was used until 1971. At that time, the congregation began to worship with the Remonstrant congregation (Remonstrantse Broederschap) in their church, located at Grote Oost 43.
Formerly Hoorn was an important center of Mennonitism, both by its large membership and its influential leaders. Jan Willemsz and Lubbert Gerritsz of Hoorn were called to Harlingen in 1567 in a futile attempt to settle the conflict between the Frisian and the Flemish Mennonites; a large conference of North Holland leaders was held in Hoorn 1568, where the conduct of Dirk Philips, who had banned Willemsz and Gerritsz, was censured; in 1576 a number of elders and preachers of the Waterlanders met at Hoorn to make peace with the Frisians—a fruitless effort; a meeting of the principal leader of the Old Frisians, Pieter Jansz Twisck, elder at Hoorn, and some conservative Flemish leaders took place here in 1622.
The Waterlander congregation of Hoorn was more conservative than Waterlander congregations usually were. It laid much stress upon confession and took measures to keep out of the pulpit the preachers from outside who sympathized with Collegiantism. After the congregation had united with the Frisians, its preachers published a booklet for the catechumens Vraagen over de Grondwaarheden des Christelijken Geloofs, . . . (Hoorn, 1768). Shortly before (1766) the elder of Hoorn, Cornelis Ris, had produced a Confession, approved by the Zonist Mennonite Conference.
In the 18th century after the union of Waterlanders and Frisians the congregation was a member both of the Frisian Conference of North Holland and the Zonist Conference. Important preachers in that century were Pieter Beets, Peter Houttuyn, Willem Houttuyn, Adriaen Houttuyn, Jan Beets, Jacob Houttuyn, Cornelis Ris, and Jacob Spits, who was the last unsalaried minister of Hoorn. He died in 1810, at the age of 90 years.
Notwithstanding these prominent preachers the membership declined considerably, both because of the decline of Hoorn as a trade and navigation center and also because of the indifference of the Mennonites to their brotherhood in the 18th century; during this century many Mennonites transferred their membership to the Reformed Church.
About 1700 (figures of an earlier period were not available) the total number of (baptized) Mennonites in Hoorn was 500, in 1747, when the Frisians and Waterlanders united, it had decreased to 212 members, about 119 in 1840, 142 in 1900, 200 in 1931, 165 in 1954.
The ministers during these 150 years were Jacob van Zaanen 1805-1813, Jacob Pol 1814-1843, J. G. de Hoop Scheffer 1843-1846, J. Kerbert 1846-1867, J. H. Uiterwijk 1867-1870, A. W. Wybrands 1870-1882, J. W. van der Linden 1883-1884, K. Gorter 1885-1889, J. Pottinga 1890-1893, M. Uiterdijk 1894-1932, B. P. de Vries 1933-1948, W. Broer 1949- . Since 1933 the pastor of Hoorn has also served at Enkhuisen.
In 1952 a group left the main body of the congregation because of the rigorous orthodoxy of Pastor Broer. This group, 45 members in the 1950s, made contacts with the Beemster congregation; it held separate meetings and had a ladies' circle of its own. The Hoorn congregation, which was very wealthy in the 18th century, has since lost most of its means. Church activities in 1954 included a Sunday school for children since 1896, a ladies' circle, and a Bible group.
Cate, Steven Blaupot ten. Geschiedenis der Doopsgezinden in Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht en Gelderland. Amsterdam: P.N. van Kampen, 1847: I and II, passim.
Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1861): 161; (1867): 58, 66, 77-90; (1873): 52 f.; (1879): 94; (1882): 116 f.; (1883): 72; (1892): 103 note 1; (1893): 37 f., 58 f., 61 f., 78, 81.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. II, 344 f.
Hoop Scheffer, Jacob Gijsbert de. Inventaris der Archiefstukken berustende bij de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente to Amsterdam. Amsterdam: Uitgegeven en ten geschenke aangeboden door den Kerkeraad dier Gemeente, 1883-1884: I, Nos. 131, 396, 480, 502, 531, 558, 708, 781, 868-72, 888, 1154, 1180, 1408, 1415; II, Nos. 1944-46; II, 2, Nos. 101-218.
Slee, Jacob Cornelius van. De Rijnsburger Collegianten: geschiedkundig onderzoek. Utrecht: HES Publishers, 1980: 188-194.
Additional Information
Congregation: Doopsgezinde-Remonstrantse Gemeente Hoorn
Address: Grote Oost 43, 1621 BR Hoorn, Netherlands
Telephone: 0229-214743
Church website: Doopsgezinde-Remonstrantse Gemeente Hoorn
Denominational affiliation:
Algemene Doopsgezinde Sociëteit
Map:Hoorn, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Author(s) | Menzo Uiterdijk |
Nanne van der Zijpp | |
Richard D. Thiessen | |
Date Published | October 2014 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Uiterdijk, Menzo, Nanne van der Zijpp and Richard D. Thiessen. "Hoorn (Noord-Holland, Netherlands)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. October 2014. Web. 24 Feb 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hoorn_(Noord-Holland,_Netherlands)&oldid=146490.
APA style
Uiterdijk, Menzo, Nanne van der Zijpp and Richard D. Thiessen. (October 2014). Hoorn (Noord-Holland, Netherlands). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 February 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hoorn_(Noord-Holland,_Netherlands)&oldid=146490.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp. 807-808. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


text:
JP CENTER—The Whitehaus, an artist commune and influential underground music venue at 10 Seaverns Ave., is facing its final months after a police raid of an October show and the landlord's decision not to offer a new lease, according to Whitehaus member Sam Potrykus.
"Our time has come…It's over," said Potrykus, who was summoned to court last month on a complaint of "keeping a disorderly house" following the police shutdown of an Oct. 12 show there.
No more concerts will be held there, and the lease situation will probably force the residents, who call themselves the Whitehaus Family, to move out by next spring, he said.
The Whitehaus Family has been active in Jamaica Plain for years and lived at 10 Seaverns for about six years. It has been a major player in the Boston music scene, holding large concerts in Cambridge and releasing albums on its own record label. Many members are in prominent local bands. That includes Potrykus, a member of the Needy Visions, which played the JP Music Festival this year. Potrykus also publishes the Boston Counter Cultural Compass, a well-known listing of underground shows, from the house.
But the house also regularly drew noise complaints for its slate of concerts by local and touring musicians. That history finally caught up with the house with the raid by about 20 police officers on Oct. 12. Potrykus was not charged with any crime at the court hearing, but was told he will be if he stages another concert there between now and next June.
And the house's landlords, the local Stamatos family, will not renew the annual lease in a move apparently unconnected to the police raid, Potrykus said.
"Plain and simple, they've told us they have plans for the property that don't involve a hippie house," he said, adding that the group guesses any redevelopment would start early next year.
Christ Stamatos of the Stamatos real estate business did not return a Gazette phone call.
Potrykus said the Whitehaus Family intends to stick together and is maintaining a positive attitude about the future. He is also exploring the possibility of creating an officially permitted, though still do-it-yourself, music venue through his Boston Hassle event promotion effort. He said some supports of the house have proposed a petition calling for it to remain alive, but that he is not interested in that effort.
The Whitehaus Family understands the house-as-venue was "illegal even though it's noble," Potrykus said.
"I'm not fighting for a dying venue," he said. "In the end, it's not a legitimate venue and it had a good run. Let's face it, it's a home. It's not a community center."
Potrykus added that he has no hard feelings toward anyone who complained about noise or toward the police.
Meanwhile, the house's residents are only beginning to figure out where they might move and still live together.
"If anyone has a big house in a not-too-densely-populated area in Jamaica Plain, let us know," Potrykus said.
For more about the Whitehaus, see whitehausfamilyrecord.com.


text:
Plan to delist gray wolf endangers other threatened species, researchers find
The federal government's proposal to discontinue protection for the gray wolf across the United States could have the unintended consequence of endangering other species, researchers say.
As written, scientists assert, the proposed rule would set a precedent allowing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to declare habitat unsuitable for an endangered animal because a threat exists on the land – the exact opposite of the service's mandate to impose regulations that reduce threats against imperiled species.
The FWS has "conflated threats with habitat suitability" by stating that U.S. land currently unoccupied by wolves – most of the country that historically served as wolf habitat – is now unsuitable because humans living in those regions won't tolerate the animals, the lead scientist said. This claim runs counter to existing research, which the service did not cite in its explanation of the rule.
"The Fish and Wildlife Service is supposed to detail what the threats are and if they're substantial enough, they're supposed to list a species and put in place policies to mitigate the threats," said Jeremy Bruskotter, associate professor in The Ohio State University's School of Environment and Natural Resources and lead author of the paper.
"Here, they're saying that they recognize the threat of human intolerance and instead of mitigating the threat, they're just going to say the land is unsuitable."
Were this rule to stand, he said, "Anytime the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finds that something is in the way of a species' recovery, they can just say the habitat is unsuitable for the species and disregard the threat altogether."
FWS proposed removing the gray wolf (Canis lupus) from the list of threatened and endangered species in June. The rule covers most of the continental United States where wolves historically existed, before being exterminated by people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Public comments closed Dec. 17, and will be analyzed and considered before the service issues a final rule.
The critique is published online in the journal Conservation Letters.
Congress passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973. The act expanded on previous legislation by providing for the protection of any species in danger of or threatened with extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
The act's language is critical to what follows: In determining whether a species has recovered, the law requires FWS to declare it is no longer endangered in all or a "significant portion of its range." The gray wolf has recovered in the northern Rockies and upper Great Lakes.
The proposed rule, however, discounts the other 85 percent of the wolf's historic range, which stretches across northern states from the west coast through New England and as far east as mid-Texas in the southern half of the country.
"So what the service is saying is that wolves are going to be called recovered in most of the United States despite the fact that very few wolves live outside these two recovered areas," Bruskotter said. "Wherever they are now, that's their range – which means taking the historic and geographic component out of the listing process."
He and colleagues suggest that this practice not only disregards the law, but "specifically creates incentive to destroy habitat in advance of a listing and do things that aren't good for endangered species."
The law also requires the service to consider the "best available science" in assessing whether threats have eased and a species is recovered. Instead of citing the dozens of studies that suggest human support for wolf restoration is high, the service simply ignored this research and claimed that these areas are unsuitable because of human intolerance. When federal protection is lifted, species management falls to the states.
"That process is not the best available science," Bruskotter said.
Bruskotter acknowledged that FWS is under enormous pressure from the opposing sides of a highly contentious fight about wolves: hunters and livestock producers on one side and wildlife advocates on the other. But that pressure doesn't relieve the service of its duty to act on behalf of endangered species as the law requires, he said.
"The law is supposed to help the protected species, not just describe the threats to that species. But to construct this delisting rule, they've had to interpret policy and science in every case in a way that either disregards threats to wolves, or treats them as insurmountable," he said. "They're doing the opposite of what the act requires."
Journal information: Conservation Letters
Provided by The Ohio State University


text:
Clare's Law and requesting domestic violence offender data
Date published: 28 April 2020 13:24The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) is often called 'Clare's Law' after the landmark case that led to it. Clare's Law gives any member of the public the right to ask the police if their partner may pose a risk to them. Under Clare's Law, a member of the public can also make enquiries into the partner of a close friend or family member.
The application process
Once an application is made, police and partner agencies will carry out a range of checks. If these reveal a record of abusive offences, or suggest a risk of violence or abuse, the police will consider sharing this information. Our aim is to help people to make a more informed decision on whether to continue a relationship and provide help and support when making that choice.
If we decide to make a disclosure, this will usually be made to the person at risk. This is unless, in the circumstances, someone else is better placed to use the information to protect them from abuse. There may be occasions when the police will not let you know whether a disclosure has or has not been made.
Any disclosure will be made in person - none of the disclosure is made in writing and you will not be given any documentation.
How to make an application under Clare's Law
To make an application you will need to attend a police station in person or contact 101 where a police officer or member of police staff will take the details of your enquiry. They will also establish a safe way to contact you. You will need to give your name, address and date of birth.


text:
Did you have a wonderful Thanksgiving? We did!
I was missing most of my kiddos… Devin and Conner went to Arizona with their dad's side of the family, and Mitch was with his mom, but Grant was here (of course!) and we had a full house anyway. Nothing makes me happier than having friends and family around. The more, the merrier! I love, love, love how my Thanksgiving table turned out.
How I made this. |
My fabulous sister came over a day early, and she and Handsome Hubby slaved away in the kitchen while I played around with decor. I didn't cook a thing!
Holy cats! There was so much food! (And holy cats, I look tired and cross-eyed. What the what?) |
They had it down to a pretty tight schedule…
We ate out on our patio, so while Sis and HH were cooking, I was putting things together to create our "outdoor room" using drop cloths and burlap strips.
I used a staple gun to attach the drop cloth to the back of the structure and then looped strips of burlap over one of the front supports. (It hides the barren planter where we can't get anything to grow because it's part of the dog's squirrel chasing course…)
It was such a nice evening and I loved every minute of it! Hope yours was great too!
Click HERE to see how I put together the hanging centerpiece and the table, but after that we'll be all Christmas around here!


text:
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
A Model Opinion Affirmed
The relevant facts are these: for the introduction of its 2004 Toyota hired the advertising company of Saatchi and Saatchi; both companies agreed the campaign would involve digital models that could be used on Toyota's website and in other media. Toyota and Saatchi hired Grace & Wild to supply the digital models. G&W in turn subcontracted with plaintiff Meshwerks to do some, but not all of the work, in producing the final digital models: Meshwerks would do the digitization and basic modeling; G&W would then take Meshwerk's work and add details, as well as color, texture, lighting, and animation. The suit arose over a dispute about the scope of the license granted by Meshwerks.
To perform its part of the ultimate product, Meshwerk employees began with the actual cars. The employees put tape on the cars in a grid pattern. Each point of an intersection of the grid was marked by a mechanical arm, to which a computer was attached, resulting in a file of data points. Using off-the-shelf software, those points could be opened up, and once opened up an image of the car would appear. It is undisputed that it took Meshwerks 80 to 100 hours to produce a model for each care; it is also undisputed that Meshwerks altered over 90% of the data points collected during the original digitization process, in order to get a model that looked as much as possible like the actual car. Some elements of the car had to be created from scratch.
If one were to apply a labor theory of originality, there is no doubt Meshwerks would meet that standard. But the labor theory was rightly rejected by the Supreme Court in its 1991 Feist opinion. Two factors were of critical importance to the Tenth Circuit in affirming the district court's grant of summary judgment to defendants (1) G&W, not Meshwerks made all the decisions regarding "lighting, shading, the background in front of which the vehicle would be posed, the angle at which to pose it, or the like; (2) Meshwerks' purpose was to "depict nothing more than unadorned Toyota vehicles, the car as car."
On this last point, the pictures in the appendices help. I agree that if the final result is not copyrightable, it doesn't matter how much labor or skill went into production of the models. The use of off-the-shelf software to produce the data points did not result in a copyrightable work; instead, the originality, if any, must be found in what Meshwerks did after the original digitization and before G&W took over and added more traditional creative elements. The court of appeals seemed to think that Meshwerks' contributions were taken the unprotectible data points and then tweaking them so that they looked as close at possible to the real car, an effort in found to be unoriginal under Feist, regardless of how many hours it took.
I am more sympathetic to this view than I was before, but I am still bothered by the premise that efforts to realistically depict an actual object are unoriginal. Superrealist oil paintings are an obvious example. I have a few posters of them, and if you don't look closely you think it was a photograph. Photographs are of course protectible, usually, due to the lighting, shading, angle and other choices. But in Meshwerks those choices were made by G&W, and this is what seemed to persuade the court of appeals Meshwerk's contributions were unoriginal.
If I was still writing casebooks for law school classes, Meshwerks would be a must for inclusion in the next edition.
10 comments:
- Anonymous said...
Hi Bill, fun post. I haven't read the opinion yet, but I'm fascinated by this sort of case so I'll surely have a look at it. I have a question that can be posed even without reading the opinion- if Meshworks could copyright the computer model of the car, what would stop Meshworks from suing Toyota for producing a substantially similar derivative work? That can't be right.
The car comes first, and Meshworks admittedly modeled the car- so any copyrightable elements in the model are necessarily derivative of the rights in the car itself!
I'd have to disagree with your opinion that this is even a close question- the necessary outcome dictates the court's approach. Any originality in the 2D model must arise from the design of the car itself, not from the translation. And if Meshworks does its job properly, they don't introduce any additional creativity into the translation they produce.
The only way that Meshworks could reasonably claim copyright is if they introduced some artistic originality or creativity into the translation- but that would presumably ruin the work they were hired to do! - 11:27 AM
- Anonymous said...
I saw you speak on a panel re: Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp., and since then the labor theory of originality has fascinated me. Thanks for sharing this one.
My first reaction to the rejection of the labor theory was a visceral one -- it seems that the producer of the copy was "robbed" of his efforts. What I'd like to see is if these types of producers start to draft copyright-like terms into their work contracts. It seems like the next natural step. - 12:49 PM
- Anonymous said...
steve ----
I believe that the copyright protection afforded to Meshworks for its 3d models would be extremely thin. In this way, Meshworks is protected from any appropriation of its actual models, but has no right of action against a party who makes its own 3d models.
The key issue is whether you believe there is a merger of idea and expression. I disagree with the premise that there are only a limited ways of expressing the models and therefore think that Meshworks is entitled to protection for only their independently creative contributions. - 1:09 PM
- Anonymous said...
I find it somewhat entertaining, that the opinion, that you disagree with, contains several citations to your own treatise.
- William Patry said...
Dear Anon. I am very grateful for the citations amd respectful toward the opinion. I have no disagreement with the court's discussion of the law. Its discussion of the facts is full and fair. I also indicated that my own view of the facts has moved somewhat too. My reservations are about the facts only.
- S. Bielstein said...
As someone who has studied Bridgeman and written about the image trade and the public domain, I have long hoped to see the case applied--and expanded upon--at the Circuit Court level, so this is great news. It may even prove to be something of a landmark since it does grapple to a degree with matters of intent. As to your thoughts about superrealism in painting, it's an interesting subject. I think one might aver that, in a hyper-real painting the execution is so self-reflexive--drawing attention to itself--that that becomes the overriding content of the work, more so than the object painted. At least that's how an art critic would see it. But it is still an interesting legal question, especially since, as we know, a change of medium does not itself confer originality when it comes to making a copy.
Susan Bielstein
Executive Editor
The University of Chicago Press - 12:39 AM
- Anonymous said...
Christian: you said "The key issue is whether you believe there is a merger of idea and expression."
While that is a valid question in many copyright cases, I don't believe it applies to the facts here. Meshworks was hired to copy an existing form- so anything they produce is work-for-hire regardless of whether there is merger.
My beef is that the copy of the original Toyota form is by definition a copy, so it can't have the requisite originality to merit protection. Either it's a faithful copy, in which case the work does not have originality, or it's not a faithful copy, in which case Meshworks don't get paid because they didn't do their job...
Mesworks producing a satisfactory model is inconsistent with their claim of copyright in the work product. The merger doctrine should never even enter the (heh) picture. - 1:03 AM
- Anonymous said...
I strongly disagreed with this opinion and I think it is wrongly decided.
This case has a lot in common with the copyrightability of a typeface. The typefaces are not coyrightable. 37 CFR 202.1(e). The bitmaps of the typefaces are not copyrightable, as they are nothing but electronic representation of the non-copyrightable typefaces.
However, the digitized typefaces, the scalable true-type fonts ARE copyrightable. And how are these true-type fonts generated? By putting data/grid points along the curves of the typefaces and then tweaking them for hours on end, so the final result is exactly same as the original typeface.
The copyright office opined that:
``... the Copyright Office is persuaded that creating scalable typefonts using already-digitized typeface represents a significant change in the industry since our previous [September 29, 1988] Policy Decision. We are also persuaded that computer programs designed for generating typeface in conjunction with low resolution and other printing devices may involve original computer instructions entitled protection under the Copyright Act. For example, the creation of scalable font output programs to produce harmonious fonts consisting of hundreds of characters typically involves many decisions in drafting the instructions that drive the printer. The expression of these decisions is neither limited by the unprotectable shape of the letters nor functionally mandated. This expression, assuming it meets the usual standard of authorship, is thus registerable as a computer program.'' 57 FR 6202.''
In this case, Meshwerk didn't create a bitmap of the Toyota vehicle; they created a digitized vector model of the Toyota vehicle and inherently introduced original expression in the process.
That's the whole point of creating a digitized model, so you can scale it, rotate it, move it, put a different background on it.
If a true-type font file is copyrightable, there is absolutely no reason, in fact, I would argue that it is inconsistent to argue. that a (vector) digitized model of a real object is not copyrightable. - 3:08 AM
- Anonymous said...
This is an interesting point for that relates to a project I've been involved with also. (Just discovered your blog, Mr. Patry.)
In October of last year, the site imslp.org, a Canadian site featuring PDF scans of public domain music scores, was taken down under C & D threat from an Austrian music publisher over (among other things) a 1967 critical edition of Mahler's Symphony No. 1. Mahler of course died in 1911 and is not under copyright even in the EU. Canada's law is not terribly clear on the status of such editions and whether they meet the threshold or originality to qualify for copyright status. US case law (as in Feist and Bridgeman) would appear to hold that such editions fail to meet the standard. Nevertheless, most US classical music publishers (there are about 10 of them) seem to view such editions as a full-fledged copyright with all the trimmings.
The Mahler score at hand is especially interesting because the publisher, Universal Edition, did not even re-engrave the score, but simply corrected the 1906 engraving that had already been in print for six decades. This issue (critical editions) would appear to directly apply to previous poster Mr. Bielstein, as the Univ. of Chicago Press is the joint publisher with Ricordi/BMG of the Verdi critical edition scores. Interestingly, such editions are only protected for 20 years after publication in Italy, and no more than 30 in the EU as a whole. - 9:18 PM
- Anonymous said...
FYI, Meshwerks today filed a petition for re-hearing of the Tenth Circuit's decision, on the basis that Meshwerks registered for copyright the computer programs underlying its digital models, not the generated images of Toyota vehicles. As a result, Meshwerks is asking the Court to address the issue of whether the computer programs, which are original and unique to Meshwerks, are protected by copyright, even if the generated screen images of Toyota's vehicles may not be.
Lewis Francis, attorney for Meshwerks. - 5:38 PM


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We can attempt contact and identification with the photographer, but generally anyone can photograph areas that are visible to the general public. If this is a repeating issue with the same subject, other laws may apply and an officer should be consulted. Also, note that realtors and appraisers take pictures of homes for a variety of reasons.
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Do you know why the police had it towed? Your next course of action depends upon your answer. If the complaint is about the cost of the towing and impound, we have no control over what fees you are charged because this is a private company.
Under AMC (5.28.050) a business license is required for any person to conduct, operate, engage in, or practice any business in the city. There are some limited exceptions listed in AMC (5.28.060) such as farmers, garage sales, persons under age of 18, etc. Any violations should be reported to the Code Enforcement Officer at the Permit Center at:
18204 59th Avenue NE
Arlington, WA 98223
Phone: 360-403-3551
Please contact the Police Department at 360-403-3400 so we may determine what happened and why.
We have little control over another agencies' rules and procedures but we would like to know your concerns for our future consideration.To further address your concerns, contact the shelter at 360-757-0445 or visit the Human Society of Skagit Valley Website.
On June 1, 2007 all children under a certain age must be in a child restraint system. Find additional information about changes in the law on the Washington State Patrol Website.
Violations of agreements between persons whether verbal or written are civil, rather than criminal issues. We do not have the legal authority to resolve these issues. Instead, if the loss is less than $1,500 the Civil section of Cascade District Court may be contacted for further information:
415 E Burke Avenue Arlington, WA 98223 Phone: 360-435-7708
Losses that are more than that require action in Superior Court and you should consult with an attorney.
State law prohibits the Police Department from voiding a ticket that has already been issued; only the court can dismiss the ticket. The court must verify that proof of insurance shows the person was insured at the time of the violation, prior to dismissing the charge. If an Arlington Police officer issued the ticket, the case will be sent to municipal court that is located with the Marysville Municipal Court, 360-363-8050.
Yes, we have citizen collision report forms in the lobby at the Police Station. If the accident occurred in the city and either injury or significant damage occurred, an officer should be consulted to determine if a police report is appropriate.
The city of Arlington has a permit process for Special Events. This permit application can be obtained from Sarah Higgins at 360-403-3448, or check the Recreation page on our website to download. This permit is required for all such block parties.
Please contact the Police Department by calling 360-403-3400. Please ask to speak to a supervisor.
If your complaint is that you are disagreeing with the officer's enforcement decision in issuing the ticket, then you should contest the ticket in court. The Police Department does not change the enforcement decision made by the Police Officer.
If you have a complaint about how an officer conducted themselves, then we are interested in hearing more about that. Please contact the Police Department by calling 360-403-3400 and ask to have a supervisor contact you. Many complaints are about what we call "normal safety procedures" like the officer shined a spotlight or flashlight into the car or in the eyes, or ordered that hands be removed from pockets. These are not handled as formal complaints because of what officers have to do to be safe.
The City operates a Municipal Court under contract wit the City of Marysville because it is more cost effective to operate one court with the two cities and it provides a higher level of service to everyone. Government is always challenged to provide services at a lower cost to the taxpayer.
The City's detectives are continually handling a number of cases and are often out of the office. They do interviews and meetings on an appointment basis. If you do not have an appointment, you can leave a message for the detective and they will return your call. If your issue is not on their caseload, then please arrange to meet with a uniformed officer. Officers will also investigate cases.
The Police Department handles only those problems that occur in the city. For problems in the county, please contact the county auditor's office Animal Hotline, 425-388-3440.
Phone: 425-257-60002732 36th StreetEverett
Phone: 360-629-705531300 Brandstromn RoadStanwood
While we encourage neighbors to resolve neighborhood issues whenever feasible, our process for nuisance dog violations begins with education and warnings and continues with growing fines for multiple violations. When considering appropriate enforcement, we also bear in mind not to penalize owners whose dogs alert them to a potential threat.
Unfortunately, neither the government nor the police have the authority to handle these issues that are occurring on private property unless they directly are rabid or physically attacking people thus causing a public health hazard. This problem is best handled by calling a private exterminator service listed in the phone book. The Washington State Fish & Game Department at 425-775-1311 may be able to provide you with some technical advice.
The Arlington Police Department does not have authority to tow or impound vehicles that are in privately owned parking lots. The only way to have it removed is for the property owner to call a private tow company and have the vehicle impounded.
If the person has been residing at your residence then there is an implied residency that he can claim. You will need to contact either the Civil Department of the Snohomish County Sheriff's office and start the eviction process to have him evicted. You can also contact a civil attorney to assist you in your own eviction process that is required by civil law. By law, the Police Department cannot become involved in the eviction process.
This violation is covered under AMC 11.01.120 (6) Property Maintenance. This is a code violation and failure to comply may require the city attorney to file a judicial action (abatement). This violation needs to be reported to the Code Enforcement Officer at City Hall 360-403-3457.
Under AMC (10.54.030), No vehicle shall be parked continuously on a street or alley for more than 72 hours. Violators can be reported to the Arlington Police who will go out and tag the vehicle. After 72 hours of failing to be moved, the vehicle is subject to a parking infraction. If it continues to be in violation, the vehicle may be subject to impoundment.
Unfortunately, neither the government nor the police have the authority to handle these issues that are occurring on private property. This is best handled by the property owner where the dead animal is. This problem may be handled by contacting a private exterminator service listed in the phone book. If the animal is in on a city street, then please call the Street Department at 360-403-3459.
If both parties are legally married or living together in a relationship, then this incident becomes a civil dispute between two parties and settlement will have to be worked out either in Civil Court or amongst the two parties. This is not a criminal act that the Police can take action on. If there has been a divorce and parties are not residing together and these monies are not in dispute by both parties then the police can review the facts to determine if this can be criminally prosecuted.
Several things such as length of time the car is missing, type of permission given, your relationship with friend, any claim of ownership by friend, would need to be asked by police to determine if this incident of theft can be prosecuted criminally. Prosecutors have strict guidelines on whether a stolen vehicle can be reported if it must be resolved through the civil process. RCW 9A.56 discusses these various thefts and taking a motor vehicle without owner's permission. They can be found online.
If you are a City of Arlington resident, we will dispose of it for you. Outside the city contact your local law enforcement jurisdiction.
Your choices are listed on the back of the ticket. If it is an infraction (a green colored copy), you can make payment at the City Finance Department. If it is a criminal citation (a golden rod color copy), you must follow the directions on the back of the ticket. If an Arlington Police Officer issued the ticket, the case will be sent to our municipal court that is located with the Marysville Municipal Court, 360-363-8050.
You can contact the Police Department. We can check the case file and let you know the status of the case, or have the investigating officer contact you.
The Police Department does not have the ability to remove a suspension on a license. You will need to contact the court where the fine was paid. There are several different court jurisdictions, therefore, you will need to determine which court was handling your ticket. If an Arlington Police Officer issued the ticket, the case was likely sent to our municipal court that is located with the Marysville Municipal Court, 360-363-8050.
If an Arlington Police Office investigated your collision, the case report can be requested through a Public Records Request. Please include as much information about your collision, such as date, time, location, and a case number (if available).
Yes, for some types of property crimes, you can file an online report with the Arlington Police Department. Effective May 21, 2018, the Arlington Police Department joined several other law enforcement agencies in the county by offering this new tool.
If you are reporting a property crime that less than $5,000 in value and you do not know who the suspect is, you can visit www.mycrimereport.us to file your report with a minimal amount of typing and mouse clicks. The online crime reporting tool, which can also be accessed via mobile device, may be especially useful for victims who need a police report number for insurance purposes, but either cannot or do not want to wait for an officer to respond.
The minimum requirements for filing a report online are that the reporting party has an e-mail address and that they know the location where the incident occurred.
Examples of crimes that can be reported online include:
The online tool will generate a police report number and will send that number to the victim's e-mail, typically within 72 business hours. All reports are reviewed by law enforcement personnel. Anyone with questions about a crime and how to report it should still call 911.
If an Arlington Police Office investigated your case, the case report can be requested through a Public Records Request. Please include as much information about your case, such as date, time, location, and a case number (if available).
Arrest warrants are issued through the court system and served by police agencies. You will need to contact the courts for that information.
The Police Department is not authorized to provide criminal history information to the public. This can be done through the Washington State Patrol Watch System. To contact them by phone dial 360-705-5360.
The phone number is 360-403-3400. This is answered Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Under RCW 77.15.460 the rifle must not contain any shells or cartridges in the magazine or chamber, or it is not a muzzle-loading firearm that is loaded or capped or primed. A firearm shall not be considered loaded if the detachable clip or magazine is not inserted in or attached to the firearm. Other rules for carrying firearms in motor vehicles are listed under RCW 9.41.050 with exceptions listed under RCW 9.41.060


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to quote Harry:
Nonin over on the E sangha forum has stated a few times to the effect that: the way we understand something is just a reflection of how deep our practie is.I primarily rely on just my own experience and words, as we all must really; as a wise man once said "I really can't be fooled by others" (or words to that effect)
Sometimes I find that when reading something, something just rings true bing, bing. Depending on the point that my understanding is at.
As was the case with reading the following precepts by Thich Nhat Hanh:
http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/index. ... opic=69640THE 14 PRECEPTS OF THE ORDER OF INTERBEING
Thich Nhat Hanh
1.Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means. They are not absolute truth.
2. Do not think that the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice non-attachment from views in order to be open to receive others' viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times.
3. Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt your views, whether by authority, threat, money, propaganda, or even education. However, through compassionate dialogue, help others renounce fanaticism and narrowness.
4. Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering, including personal contact, visits, images, sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.
5. Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry. Do not take as the aim of your life fame, profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure. Live simply and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.
6. Do not maintain anger or hatred. Learn to penetrate and transform them when they are still seeds in your consciousness. As soon as they arise, turn your attention to your breath in order to see and understand the nature of your anger and hatred and the nature of the persons who have caused your anger and hatred.
7. Do not lose yourself in dispersion and in your surroundings. Practice mindful breathing to come back to what is happening in the present moment. Be in touch with what is wondrous, refreshing, and healing both inside and around you. Plant seeds of joy, peace, and understanding in yourself in order to facilitate the work of transformation in the depths of your consciousness.
8. Do not utter words that can create discord and cause the community to break. Make every effort to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.
9. Do not say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people. Do not utter words that cause division and hatred. Do not spread news that you do not know to be certain. Do not criticize or condemn things of which you are not sure. Always speak truthfully and constructively. Have the courage to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may threaten your own safety.
10. Do not use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit or transform your community into a political party. A religious community should, however, take a clear stand against oppression and injustice and should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts.
11. Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. Do not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Select a vocation which helps realize your ideal of compassion.
12. Do not kill. Do not let others kill. Find whatever means possible to protect life and to prevent war.
13. Possess nothing that should belong to others. Respect the property of others, but prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth.
14 Do not mistreat your body. Learn to handle it with respect. Do not look on your body as only an instrument. (For monks and nuns): Preserve vital energies (sexual, breath, spirit) for the realization of the Way. (For brothers and sisters who are not monks and nuns): Sexual expression should not take place without love and a long-term commitment.
Gassho Will


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The SitePoint PHP blog has a new post that weighs the pros and cons of getting the Zend PHP Certification. The Zend Certified PHP Engineer is described as "a measure of distinction that employers use to evaluate prospective employees".
As a PHP developer, you may have been asking yourself how to improve your skills, gain reputation or become more professional in your work. One of the ways of doing so is to get through a certification programme. The only one that covers PHP itself (not a particular framework or software solution) is being delivered by the Zend company. In the remainder of the article I will focus on this particular certificate and describe its advantages and disadvantages. At the end I will also mention some other certification programs that may be valuable to a PHP developer.
He starts with a bit of general information about the certification including some of the categories it covers. He then gets into the pros and cons, listing two items for each. He suggests that it's a good way to measure your knowledge but there is a question of how much it really proves to get a passing score.


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Are you starting your own business and need to save cash? Do you want to test the sometimes turbulent waters of the business world first before you sign a lease for office space or get a mortgage for a building? Does your business lend itself well to operating in a virtual environment? Are your employees willing to work from their homes, cars, or other moving targets? Or, do you simply think the environmental benefits are reason enough to consider a virtual work space?
Whatever your reasons, we will guide you through some of the issues you have to deal with when setting up a virtual office. We'll also discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of operating solely in cyberspace. Let's start with where your work will get done.


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The Federal Housing Finance Agency solidified its opposition to the home-greening program Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) in a letter to members of Congress Thursday, telling them it doesn't see a way to let the program move forward.
FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco rejected the possibility of a PACE pilot program, seen as the last best hope for bringing the suspended finance tool back to life in the near term.
"Discussions have failed to produce concepts that would mitigate the threat to FHFA-regulated institutions or to broader financial markets," DeMarco wrote to PACE-supporting Reps. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), John Sarbanes (D-Md.), and Mike Thompson (D-Calif.). "FHFA, therefore, has determined that its guidance to its regulated entities must remain in place."
The remaining options for saving the popular PACE program are a court battle, legislation, or possibly intervention from the Obama administration. That last option seems remote since the administration has so far refused to put its top people on the case.
Here's the background (borrowed from Grist's previous coverage): PACE works by letting homeowners pay for rooftop solar arrays and energy-saving retrofits through a surcharge on their property tax bills. The cost is paid back over 10 to 20 years. In this way PACE removes high upfront costs and ensures that property owners don't lose out if it they sell—the new buyer inherits both the home improvements and the tax assessment. The Berkeley-born model creates work for building contractors, cuts carbon pollution, and essentially runs on private capital, since cities and towns that offer PACE fund it through municipal bonds.
Until late spring, PACE was spreading at a steady clip: Twenty-two states had endorsed the model and encouraged municipalities to set up programs. San Francisco had just launched a program and Los Angeles was preparing for one later in the year. The Obama administration backed the model with $150 million in stimulus it funding and an endorsement from the vice president's Middle Class Task Force.
But in May FHFA threw the nation's first programs into confusion by warning lenders to stay away from properties with PACE assessments. The agency objects to the liens that PACE puts on properties, which get paid off ahead of mortgages if a borrower defaults. That adds a theoretical risk into an already jittery credit market.
It's an unfounded fear, since well-designed energy retrofits add to a homeowner's financial security, cutting their utility bills and making them a safer bet for lenders. A report commissioned by a major financial institution last year found that energy-efficient homes had default and delinquency rates 11 percent lower than typical homes. PACE advocates have worked to integrate standards to ensure the quality of retrofits, but that work can't continue with programs stalled out.
DeMarco raised the question of quality standards in his letter [PDF] this week:
No satisfactory conclusion has been reached to address problems associated with liens created after a mortgage is in place, thereby transferring credit risk to banks, secondary market parties and investors in mortgage-backed securities. Further, consumer protections and appropriate underwriting standards need to be uniform and mandatory to protect homeowners.
… I believe that FHFA has done its utmost to seek constructive alternatives.
PACE advocates in the building trades, local governments, and Congress disagree with his "utmost" assertion.
"Every single issue raised by FHFA was raised previously and resolved, from almost everybody's perspective, with excellent answers," PACE creator Cisco DeVries told Grist last month. "It's clear they didn't want to take 'yes' for an answer."
The chances of a legislative fix this year are slim, given the level of dysfunction in the Senate. Majority Leader Harry Reid said he'd consider pushing a PACE bill if it got a Republican cosponsor, but that hasn't happened yet. In the House, Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) signed on as the first Republican cosponsor of a PACE bill earlier this month.
That raises the question of where the other Republican supporters are, according to Cliff Staton, vice president of marketing at DeVries's company Renewable Funding, which helps towns and counties set up PACE programs.
"PACE has not been a partisan issue at the state and local level," Staton wrote in an email. "… But in DC, everything seems to be partisan.
"Now that one Republican has crossed the line, though, the question for other Republicans becomes: 'Why not co-sponsor?'"
PACE isn't the only innovative financing tool for making green improvement affordable for homeowners. But it has been one of the most effective ones during its three-year life. Now supporters know a little more about their options for saving it.
This post was produced by Grist as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.


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15 New Photos From Paul Haggis' In The Valley Of Elah
Warner Independent has released 15 new photos from Paul Haggis new film In the Valley of Elah (movie trailer). For me Paul Haggis has been off and on. I thought Million Dollar Baby was okay if not overrated, I loved Crash, Casino Royale, and Letters From Iwo Jima. I liked The Last Kiss, and somewhat disliked Flags of our Fathers.
His new drama is inspired by the true-life case of a retired Army veteran (played here by Tommy Lee Jones) who discovers his son was killed by his own platoon members after they returned stateside but failed to shake battlefield mentality. To be fair, this is director/screenwriter Paul Haggis's eagerly anticipated follow up to the Oscar-winning 2004 indie-hit Crash. The other films I mentioned above he wrote but didn't direct. The film is based on an article from Playboy Magazine (who knew they had articles?) written by Mark Boal. Haggis' fictionalized version also stars Charlize Theron, James Franco, Susan Sarandon, and Josh Brolin. Looks like it has potential. Check out the photos after the jump.